Whether you’re just starting or have been in business for years, you need a website. Whether you profit $5,000 or you make millions, you need a website. Whether you’re a service-based business or a retailer — one more time for the people in the back — you need a website.

Regardless of industry or company size, an online presence is going to greatly impact the success of your business because let’s face it, we’re living in a digital age. Potential clients and customers want to go to a website before they make a purchase or decide your services fit their needs, and the chances are that in this day and age if you don’t have a website you’re going to lose that potential business to a competitor that does.

You might be thinking, but I have social media, I don’t need a website. Spoiler alert: you still need a website. Social media can be great and all but if you stick to social only you’re building your business on borrowed land. If Instagram were to shut down tomorrow, your business would go with it.

Soooo whether you’re hesitant to get a site started because you don’t think you’re tech-savvy enough to maintain it or you’re concerned about the cost, I’m here to tell you a few things. First, it’s easier and more cost-effective than you think and second, the benefits of having a credible site up and running FAR outweigh any cons.

Let’s dive in a bit further, shall we?

What are the benefits of having a website?

Credibility. credibility. and more credibility.

Let’s play a quick little game of would you rather. You’re in the market for a new therapist, would you rather work with a person who only has a Facebook page and limited information available or one who has a full website with past client testimonials, services clearly stated, and a trustworthy bio? It kind of feels like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? When you have a website you look more professional and credible.

Without a website, people may question how legit your business is regardless of industry. A website allows you to make an impression on potential clients and customers, and will allow you to position yourself in a way that can help you stand out from competitors — what a win, win!

LEADS, BABY, LEADS.

A website is an ESSENTIAL part of the customer journey for so many people! More often than not, your potential customers/clients are coming to you via social media (hey, or Google!) and they need a place to land. A website is going to nurture those potential customers and help you capture more leads than you’d ever get just relying on social media alone. When people find you online they want to know more so having a site full of rich information about your services, products, etc. and then a clear way to contact you or purchase from you is going to have such a positive ROI every. single. time.

VISIBILITY. BASICALLY, LEADS 2.0.

When you’re just using social media, you’re missing out on so much. You want to direct traffic to your website to build up your SEO rather than an Instagram account that you don’t truly own. Think of allllllll the people using the internet worldwide. Why would you miss out on the opportunity to reach more people? Without a website, your business is going to be invisible to SO many people.

So, how are you supposed to become visible to all of those people? Well, a website is just the first step. Once you’ve established your online presence you need to make sure it’s optimized for SEO. With an SEO-optimized site, you’ll have a greater chance to show up in those oh-so-important Google search results which is going to allow you to increase your customer base and get more of those juicy leads.

CONTROL!

You know what you don’t really have control over, that Etsy shop or Instagram page. With a website, you can share the content you want — the reviews, the images, the videos, you name it. Whereas if you’re relying on social media only or an Etsy shop, you’re limited to what you can share, what can be updated to match your branding, etc. Did you know I did a deep dive into Etsy vs. Shopify a while back? Check it out to determine which platform best fits your business needs.

IMPROVED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Last but not least, while a website might seem time-consuming at the forefront in the long run it’s going to save you time AND create a better customer experience overall. Your website should include plenty of information that provides value to potential customers — otherwise what’s the point? By having that basic info readily available and easy for customers to find you’re going to save yourself time and energy that might typically be spent answering questions or fielding calls. Not only does this save you time but it’s also going to create a better customer experience altogether.

WHEN SHOULD I CREATE MY BUSINESS WEBSITE?

This might take you by surprise but as soon as possible. While it isn’t the best idea to start a website if you’re still in the ideation phase of creating your business, you can launch one as soon as you know the basics — think business name and mission. What I’m saying is you don’t have to have a fully designed site or content plan in place before you grab a domain and get a site launched. Instead, I always recommend using a cover page of sorts to showcase your branding, a little info about your business and what’s to come, links to social media platforms, and an email sign-up so people can be the first to know when your site is officially launched.

Creating your website from the start is going to allow you to start capturing leads right away, it’s going to give people who follow you a place to go and get some more information, and for e-commerce businesses that want to start selling wholesale, it’s actually essential to sell wholesale or create accounts with wholesalers to purchase from.

WHAT WEBSITE PLATFORM SHOULD I USE?

I’m not going to lie, I feel like thissss is where things get a little overwhelming, and while I totally get that this is where my team and I are here to help. We have two platforms that we recommend to every client depending on their business model and industry — Shopify and Squarespace. We recommend Squarespace for all of our service-based clients and even some of our product-based clients that sell digital products (think course creators!). On the flip side, we recommend Shopify for all other e-commerce businesses that are selling physical products.

So while you can look into WordPress, Webflow, Showit, Wix, Drupal, NopCommerce, etc. these two platforms are our bread and butter, and here’s why — cost and ease of use. More on allll of that below!

WHY WE RECOMMEND SQUARESPACE TO SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS OWNERS:

It’s easy to use. Squarespace is a super user-friendly platform that allows you to easily update your own text and images long-term so you can take true ownership of your site once we hand it off after the design is done.
It’s affordable. You can get a super custom, branded look without paying a developer to code it all from scratch. Plus, the plans themselves are fairly affordable in comparison to other platforms. After checking it out via their free trial, you can choose between four pricing tiers to select the option that best suits your business needs.
It’s an all-in-one solution. Squarespace offers hosting, domains, an analytics dashboard, SEO tools, marketing tools, a scheduling platform, email marketing, etc. literally anything and everything you could need as a business owner.
24/7 customer support. Squarespace support is available 24/7 via emails or live chat. Plus, they have SO many articles available to you in their help center which walk you through things like transferring a domain, setting up payment processing, literally all the things.
Built-in SEO features. As previously mentioned, Squarespace is an all-in-one solution, but just to touch on that a bit more, the platform offers solid SEO features that don’t require any coding. Built-in features such as auto-generated site cleanup, automatic redirects, and SSL security make your site SEO-friendly from the start. On top of that, they have an SEO tab for each page and blog post so you can easily customize your page titles and meta descriptions for the best SEO results.

WHY WE RECOMMEND SHOPIFY TO E-COMMERCE BUSINESS OWNERS:

It’s easy to use. Similar to Squarespace, Shopify is an intuitive, user-friendly platform that allows you to maintain your website in the long run by being able to swap out images and text on your own.
It’s an all-in-one solution. Shopify has a back-end dashboard that provides business owners with ALL the info and tools they could ever need such as the ability to access detailed sales reports, manage customers, review orders, etc. all without any coding.
It’s secure. When people are buying something on the internet it’s a no-brainer that security is of the utmost importance. Shopify offers SSL certification and PCI to encrypt all data so all confidential information is protected.
It’s flexible and built to scale. No matter what stage your business is in, Shopify can meet your needs. With the Shopify site themes, added customization, and app plug-ins, we’re able to create a unique-to-you site that can benefit any business level. Not to mention, Shopify has fab, 24/7 customer support and a help center to help you succeed throughout your business journey.
It has marketing and SEO integrations available. Shopify’s platform is built with SEO in mind from the beginning and offers advanced SEO functionality so you can update meta tags, title tags etc. Plus, Shopify automatically generates a sitemap for you. In addition to that, with Shopify, you have access to several marketing tools all within the platform itself.

SHOULD I HIRE A WEBSITE DESIGNER?

In my opinion, yes, absolutely you should hire a web designer, however, this truly comes down to personal preference and budget.

If you’re working with Squarespace, I have a whole blog post that goes over how to customize your site with branded fonts and there are a ton of resources out on the internet too. On the other hand, with Shopify, there are a ton of themes you can start with but if you don’t have a little bit of web design experience you might end up with a fairly basic site. With all of that being said, I do think there are some risks involved when you take the DIY approach to your website. Plus, when it comes to a website design we’re doing so much more than just adding your brand fonts and color palette.

When we design a site, we’re creating something interactive and engaging. We’re putting strategy behind every design decision to make sure everything we do is intentional and appealing to your target audience. We’re making design decisions specifically with conversions and the customer journey in mind. Plus, as designers, we have a solid understanding of type and image layouts so we can create the best user experience and a truly professional-looking site across desktop AND mobile.

All in all, it can be challenging for someone without a designer lens to look at all of your amazing branding assets and visualize how those can come together to create a site that’s more unique than just a few color blocks and scrolling text. When you hire a web designer you’re getting a VALUE out of that. One that will give you a return on your investment tenfold.

LET’S RECAP

Every business needs a website! Small or large, service-based or e-commerce.
The benefits of having a website outweigh any cons times 1000. With a website, you’ll have: more credibility, more leads, control over your platform, a better customer experience, and SO much more.
You should create your website as soon as you have your business name and mission nailed down.
Squarespace and Shopify are the two best website platforms for your business hands down! Squarespace for service-based businesses and Shopify for e-commerce.
Last but not least, you should always hire a website designer if it’s within your budget — trust me here.

SHOPIFY + SQUARESPACE WEBSITE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Examples of Shopify Websites

Every Day Collective Co. — a minimal jewelry brand offering set and customizable pieces.
Pink Antlers — an online and Kansas City-based gift shop.

Examples of Squarespace Websites

Mayday — a playful, modern coffee shop selling curated goods, fresh florals, and tasty treats.
Paloma — a New Jersey-based hair salon serving up all the best vibes.

Ready to take the leap and start building your brand presence online? Reach out! We’d love to help you with our website design services.

Plus, check out all of our branding and website design services to see if there’s something else you might want to add to your website design package — think website copywriting, a Klaviyo welcome series (seriously look into Klaviyo if you haven’t already ecommerce friends), and more!

Why EVERY Business Needs a Website

December 20, 2023

Category: web Design

why every business needs a website